Funding the Trip

It is going to be quite an expense to get the whole family to the Arctic Ocean....

So... my plan.

I have been working on a project called the database health reports which will one day make me some money.  Now I just need to get it done, and get some revenue coming in.

http://DatabaseHealth.SteveStedman.com

Steve Stedman
Bellingham WA.

Next Step... 2013

Now that the 2012 summer is over we need to get back on track for planning the 2013 Arctic Tour.

We will need to plan the route from Bellingham WA to the Arctic Ocean, and back to Bellingham WA again.

Hopefully the next 8 to 10 months is enough time to get this trip planned so that we can safely make it there and back again.


-STEVE STEDMAN

Trip moved to 2013

After attempting to do the planning, and realizing the amount of expense in a trip like this, we have postponed from 2012 to 2013 in order to have the time to get some of the necessary equipment in order for the trip. Still planning to do it, just delaying for one year.

Camper for the Trip

So, the plan is to get a camper for the trip. Not one of those tow behind camper trailers, but rather a camper that sits on top of the truck bed. There are many options here, all of which are very expensive. So thanks to a conversation with a friend the other morning, I am now looking into options to rent a camper. Really what I need is the camper for the truck for one or two weekends in the spring for a test run, then for 3 weeks at the end of the summer for the actual adventure. Time to start looking for a way to rent the camper.

12v Cordless Air Station Inflator

After reading about the safety factors in the right pressure tires on the routes that we are considering, and the likelihood of having more than one flat tire on this trip I decided to purchase the Black & Decker ASI500 12-Volt Cordless Air Station Inflator. I had another similar device from another manufacturer, which was great, but it had passed its mean time to failure, and is no longer working. This will be convenient if we need to inflate a low tire when we are 300 miles from a service station.

The Latest Challenge

As we plan this trip, we face a number of challenges. Recommendations after doing the research and reading, whether we take the Dalton Highway to Deadhorse, or the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, or both, we are going to need more than one, suggested 3 spare tires and wheels. The puzzle is with the truck, and a plan to have a camper on the top, that leaves us with very little space to hold 2 more spare tires. Also, the plan is to get a winch on the front of the truck in order to pull us out if we have any trouble. Here is the possible plan. 1. Install a 2" hitch receiver on the front of the truck. 2. Buy 2 hitch mounted spare tire mounts. Install on on the back of the truck. 3. Get a front hitch mounted winch that has a 2" hitch receiver, and mount the tire in front of the winch. This would require removal of the spare tire in order to use the hitch. The other option is to get some type of rear bumper mounted spare tire mount, and have two on the back of the bumper, one on the left and one on the right. An example would be to get 2 of the 2" bumper adapters shown in the picture to the right. Mount these to the left and right on the back bumper, and hang one spare tire off each of those. It is a fun puzzle to work out. Update: After measuring the bumper, the 4" bumper adapter isn't going to work for me. It is far to small for the Dodge Ram 2500 stock bumper.

Making progress.

The Tuk 2012 Arctic Tour t-shirt that I ordered arrived, so now its official, no turning back. Also, we have decided to tentatively go at the end of June, beginning of July. The hope is that the mosquitoes won't be so bad then, I hear they get pretty bad in August.